As of today, there are ONLY 31 days left to file a Form 471 application for 2015/2016. 31 days…that includes weekends and holidays. Your dedicated teams of consultants are literally working their fingers to the bone to gather all of the necessary documentation to complete the NEW Form 471 that was released by the FCC/USAC a mere two days before the Form 471 Window for 2015/2016 opened on January 14, 2015.

Needless to say, the NEW FORM 471 is NO JOKE.

EVERYTHING is different from the User Interface to the information required to the absolute most detailed minutia the FCC needs to see as part of the data collection effort within the Form.

I am sending along this alert for one reason…to ALERT you that some of you (our valued clients) are perhaps thinking that it might be okay to wait and wait and wait to get us the information we’ve requested multiple times over the last couple of months….as in past years.

I have to tell you that this is NOT THE CASE this year. The amount of data entry and documentation necessary to actually complete the Form 471 applications this year is mind-boggling. Analyzing the data and completing the Form itself is taking (on average) almost twice as long and oftentimes even longer than that.

I IMPLORE you to communicate with your CSM team to ensure we have everything we need – OR, please, please, please when you receive an email requesting information, please understand how truly urgent the request is. I have sent out similar alerts in October and December…now, I’m getting desperate.

If you have any questions or concerns about your specific situation, please contact your CSM Consultants right away!

As always, we welcome your feedback and comments and if you have an idea for an alert or some other topic of discussion, be sure to pass it along to your dedicated CSM Team.